Plastic drums comprise large hollow blow molded plastic articles having a side wall, a bottom wall and a top wall with one or more openings therein. In dispensing the contents of the drum, it is common to insert a dispensing tube in the drum and it is desirable to have a dispensing tube held in substantially vertical position so that substantially all of contents of the container may be drawn out of the drum.
As far as the inventor is aware no one has ever been able to successfully make any kind of a plastic drum with means for orienting and supporting the dispensing tube.
Accordingly, among the objectives of the present invention are to provide a plastic drum having a stem on the inner surface of the base wall and a method of making this plastic drum which will effectively guide the dispensing tube; which can be made at low cost; and which is simple in construction.
In accordance with the invention, a plastic drum comprising a side wall, a bottom wall and a top wall having an opening therein and a plastic stem fusion bonded to the inner surface of the base wall in general alignment with the opening such that a dispensing tube can be inserted through the opening with the lower end of the tube engaging the stem to hold the dispensing tube in positron adjacent the bottom wall. The plastic drum is made by heating the base of the plastic stem at an elevated temperature and inserting the heated stem into contact with the inner surface with the base of the drum as the hot drum is removed from the plastic forming machine where the drum has been blown outwardly from a hollow parison in conformity with a mold.